MORNING NEWSBREAK  |  Four South Carolina chefs and restaurateurs were named finalists for the 2024 James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards, often considered the Oscars of the culinary sphere, on April 3.

Finalists are nominated across 22 categories, including these South Carolina finalists:

  • Nikko Cagalanan of Charleston’s Kultura, nominated for the Emerging Chef award; 
  • James London of Charleston’s Chubby Fish, nominated for the Best Chef: Southeast award;
  • Robbie Robinson of West Columbia’s City Limits BBQ, nominated for the Best Chef: Southeast award; and 
  • Lula Drake Wine Parlor in Columbia, nominated for the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages award. 

Cagalanan immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines in 2011, launching his Mansueta’s pop-up concept in 2019. His first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Kultura, opened in July 2023.

London’s Chubby Fish was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s top 20 restaurants in the country earlier this month.

Robinson’s Texas-style barbecue joint opened just last year after an incarnation as a food truck. He and London are two of the five chefs nominated for the Best Chef: Southeast category. 

Lulu Drake’s owner and head sommelier Tim Gardner’s wine bar will go up against four other restaurants in cities like San Francisco and Washington D.C. 

James Beard Award voting is administered by a 26-person committee team, which leads a large group of judges who review nominations, taste food and provide scores before the awards are handed out. Ahead of the 2024 Restaurant and Chefs Awards ceremony, subcommittee members and judges will visit the finalists, participate in discussions and vote.

The top scoring chefs and restaurants will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on June 10 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Each finalist will have the opportunity to travel to Chicago for the ceremony. 

In other recent headlines:

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CP NEWS: Racers for Pacers kicks off Cooper River Bridge Run Saturday. Here’s a look at a group that will be among the first in Saturday’s Cooper River Bridge Run, which is expected to have more than 30,000 runners. You can also find a link to a special 16-page “fun guide” in this story.

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Republicans call for voting change to S.C. constitution. Democrats say there’s no need. Voters could be asked in November whether a single word should change in the South Carolina constitution to specify that “only” citizens can vote — a revision Democrats called completely unnecessary.

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  • To get dozens of South Carolina news stories every business day, contact the folks at SC Clips.

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